The Altomare Chronicles
by DanteNightfall
Summary: A young man named Ilya's hometown is threatened and his life is changed forever. The world around him faces grave danger.
1. Raid

July 16th, 1998

The morning was fading into noon and so the sun grew increasingly stronger, making the dry village of Altomare seem to be even drier. The young Ilya Blaire was standing outside of a computer store dressed in simple white canvas shorts and an unbuttoned white collared shirt. The town of Altomare was full of low idle chatter, and was in the midst of afternoon.

"This is awful…" he complained, gazing up at the intense sun.

With a sigh, he simply gazed around at the concrete desert that was Altomare. Its dry atmosphere was nearly endless, having caused the streets to crack and have crevices, and the sidewalk's sunlight sheen to become as dull as a butter knife. Though it was a peaceful town, its citizens lived in harmony and were generally nice people. Ilya felt quite secure himself, yet bored. He leaned back against the building before a sight seized his attention. It was a trainer battle that had just begun, the black-clad trainer of the two had sent out a Ralts against the other's Hoothoot. The black-clad trainer was quite a young man of about 19 years of age, and had a look of disinterest and belittlement on his face. The trainer felt quite proud himself; he was very sure that his Ralts would only know victory. The other trainer was struck with frustration at the black clad trainer's arrogance, and received a scoff in response. Ilya glared and sighed angrily. He kept his eyes pinned on the trainer, watching as his Ralts had made little work of the Hoothoot and had ensured a brief match. The other trainer swore under his breath and hastily returned his fallen Pokémon, while the black-clad trainer grinned on, patting his Ralts and returning it to his Pokéball. Ilya saw that his smug attitude was briefly desecrated, and turned to that of awe and horror.

"What?" he uttered meekly.

Members of Team Rocket were beginning to flood the streets and pathways on foot carrying firearms and crude incendiary devices. They thundered through the streets, from the entrances, and across balconies and bridges. People and their Pokémon were struck with horror, and sought any hiding spaces within the vicinity. Police officers quickly took notice and they, too, were nervous and had a fear of death that dreaded upon their expressions. Silence took Ilya and shock immobilized him. He felt an arm grasp tightly around his chest and wrench him into the alley of the computer store. Instinctively and reflexively, he began to thrash and try to scream.

"Be quiet! Or they'll hear you!" the person hissed, covering his mouth.

Ilya felt his body being slowly released from his emotion's strong grasp, and he was able to function fully within a brief lapse of time. Ilya discovered that his savior was the black-clad trainer, which shot away his remaining emotions as if they were a startled flock of ducks, rendering Ilya's expression cold.

"Oh, it's _you."_ He sneered.

The trainer raised an eyebrow and responded with an awkward stare. They both listened with utmost care to their hostile surroundings. Pokéballs clashing, citizens screaming, and police officers shouting commands could be heard. Team rocket had begun attacking everyone in sight, as well as raiding small marketplaces and stores. Ilya and the trainer gasped as a nearby building began to fall in its position. The screams and sheer sounds of destruction intensified as the ground rumbled and the building fell into a large pile of debris, spewing dust and ruins into the air. The two both began to murmur and worry, as were the few survivors in Altomare hiding. They worried for their safety, for the future and safety of the town. All hope had faded into the roaring flames that had exploded throughout the sky, and the thick black smoke that had accompanied it. It was just then the terror and fire was smothered under a blinding blue light that flashed across Altomare like a nuclear missile. Ilya and the trainer had flinched, and as they stood up they heard a deafening, high pitched cry of Pokémon of great power. Two jet-like figures soared across the sky at break-neck speed, creating an invisible shockwave of energy that pulsated strongly throughout Altomare. And as fast as they had taken off, they disappeared into the ocean. The citizens had gotten very quiet, and as they looked closely, a monstrous fleet of tidal waves was coming forth from the ocean. Its massive crystal-clear sheen and roaring mass thundered with justice ever closer to the dry shores of Altomare. Uproar and hysteria took the citizens and drove them away from the waters, whereas Ilya and the black-clad trainer remained still in the alley, watching. The seemingly endless waves of aqua justice crashed hard against the shores and rained mercy upon the dry, hot plight which held Altomare in its clutches. Team rocket members and their Pokémon were quickly washed out as the waves flooded into the entire city repeatedly, scattering everyone about as if they were leaves in a storm. Ilya staggered backward and shrieked as the alleyway was struck with a wave, causing it to fill up slightly.

"What will happen? What is going on?" he sputtered frantically.

"Tch!" exclaimed the trainer, grasping Ilya once again and pulling him into the back entrance of the computer store.

The inside was dark and cluttered with various computer parts and machines, but it remained dry. The building also had several floors. Ilya followed the trainer up to the second floor, and then crouched below the front window sills with him. The onslaught of waves had washed over the destruction, and had now ceased into small rushes of water. Altomare's dryness and hot climate drowned in the merciless tidal waves of aqua. The flames and destruction brought by team rocket had silenced, and their remains floated calmly in the near ocean that was Altomare. The two jet figures returned to the plaza, not far from the computer store. They gracefully landed upon the shallow water flooding the plaza and let forth soothing cries. One was the deep shade of crimson, and the other a calming shade of blue. A few remaining citizens gathered around the plaza and stood struck with awe and mercy. There were a few rocket members, but they stood away swearing and cowering.

"Let's go." Ilya said, leading the trainer down the steps and out of the store, looking up at the two powerful Pokémon.

The crimson one turned around and stared directly at Ilya, cooing in a low voice. He gulped and stared back, but then something caught his eye. It was a much more advanced looking team rocket syndicate member. The rocket member sprung up quickly and threw two devices shaped like diamonds that rapidly expanded and imprisoned the two Pokémon, causing them to utter shrill cries and collapse to the ground. Ilya felt his vision blurring once more, and his fists had automatically clenched; his teeth began to grit and grind painfully loud as he assumed a clammy-like state, in which his palms and forehead felt moist and red hot. Ilya's eyes faded from chocolate brown to a deep blood red, dark crimson and murderous intent exploding within his irises and anger burning within him while his legs began to force him into a sprint.

"You idiot!" the trainer hissed and tried to seize Ilya, but failed and flailed forward, nearly falling as he struggled and cursed.

Ilya felt an explosion without him as he let forth a roar, and leaped into the air with his solid fist pumped and prepared to land a strike on the now startled Rocket member.

"It is not yours to take!" he shouted as his fist remained inches from the startled Rocket member's jaw.

The Rocket member was thrown away from his reach at the last possible moment, and Ilya stared down in shock at the Rocket member's now severely burned body, and the blood that violently poured from his ears.

"What?" he cried out in question, and he wheeled around to find the crimson creature nearby, free from the diamond prison.

The creature stared curiously at Ilya with large, topaz eyes which seemed to pierce directly into the boy's mind. It assumed the expression of awe, not at Ilya's now nervous expression, but at a uniqueness that lay deep within his soul. It looked at Ilya as if he himself was a Pokémon. '_You must not let them succeed.' _Ilya jumped. The voice echoed throughout his head as he stared into the creature's now blindingly blue eyes. '_They're going to do something horrendously evil. Don't trust that trainer you've been with.' _He nodded, almost obligated to do so. The creature hastily stopped, and took off into the sky within short moments. Ilya now felt a sense, a power within him as courage now filled his heart. Before he turned to walk, he noticed the Rocket administrator's body, covered with burns and blood as well as a shiny ID card.

"Hmm?" Ilya hummed as he reached down to snatch it.

"SASAKI, DAISUKE DOB: 1/28/73 Senior Executive of Altomare R-"he dropped the card, startled as a nearby explosion stirred the atmosphere.

The card's sleek silver sheen glinted off of the sunlight's meek rays which flittered down into the murky water from above. Ilya drove his arms down deep to grasp the swimming glimpse, but as he calmed after flailing, it was nowhere to be found.

"Damn it!" he exclaimed in anger, and turned away quickly toward the city's exits.

The town was half submerged under thick and cloudy water, which had many a wide variety of debris and corpses littered within it as Ilya trudged through it carelessly.

He was glad to have reached the outskirts of Altomare, and relieved to have avoided any further danger, at least at the moment. The black-clad trainer seemed to be waiting for Ilya as he calmly resided on the dry ground far from the city, and he gave Ilya a concerned glance.

"What do you want from me?" Ilya questioned, glaring.

The trainer's eyebrows rose.

"I thought you needed some help." He shrugged.

"Yeah well, I can take care of myself." Ilya responded coldly, reaching dry ground and quickly fleeing the city.


	2. Crossroads

Ilya was greeted by the fresh air and setting sun. The road to Azalea town was of the highest clarity; little tall grass, and hospitable Pokémon inhabitants. Altomare was an island city, and so the ocean in between Azalea and Altomare had to be crossed. At the end of the small pathway, there was a long, steel reinforced bridge in which people were permitted to use bicycles on. As Ilya's pace slowed down and he became close, he noticed the bridge was severed; severely damaged. Team Rocket must've destroyed the bridge in an attempt to isolate Altomare from any rapid assistance. The survivors that had gathered at the bank of the road were frantic. They constantly looked around and engaged in frustrated conversation. The black-clad trainer had surprisingly gotten to the bank quicker than Ilya had. Ilya gritted his teeth at the sight of him.

"We'll have a rescue boat soon! Just be patient!" boomed an old voice over a megaphone.

Ilya pretended as if the trainer wasn't there, though the trainer himself knew Ilya was bothered by his presence. The rescue crews were dreadfully sluggish. At last, after many moments had crawled by as if they were turtles that naturally secreted a slimy movement-hindering agent, Ilya caught the glimpse of what was a large orange fan-powered hovercraft buzzing and cruising toward the crowd. They cheered and whistled as it slowed to a stop at the bank, and the people were ushered inside of it. Ilya proceeded with relief, and he sighed as he neared the boat. BANG. Everyone froze and looked around. Nothing was in sight, but the area quickly flooded with thick smoke. The survivors frantically boarded the hovercraft and it began to immediately depart before the vicinity was blanketed and blotted out by thick smoky smog. Ilya coughed and attempted to navigate through the smog, but he was unable to get anywhere. He gasped when he felt people grab him and pull him out of the smog, which had begun to thin. Ilya identified the figure as a team rocket grunt. He felt the member press a pistol up against his chest.

"Where is the eon Pokémon?" he hissed.

"What? I… I am clueless." Ilya replied unnervingly.

He rapidly searched the environment with his eyes, seeing the hovercraft far off in the distance. The grip of the two rocket members behind him became tenser and Ilya squirmed. The pressure of the pistol had increased, and the member flicked the safety off.

"I'll ask a single time before I dispose of you. Don't play games with me." He growled through gritted teeth.

Ilya squeezed his eyes shut and prepared for death.

"Huh? What's going-"

Ilya opened his eyes, and gasped with awe. The rocket members were lifted in the air with a glowing electric blue aura surrounding their terrified figures, and then they were rocketed into the deep sky. Ilya staggered backward slightly, and he looked up to see the black-clad trainer from before. His Ralts had evolved, and was now a Kirlia. Ilya's expression remained static.

"Apparently not." The trainer spoke coolly, having a delayed response to Ilya's claim of self-responsibility.

"Just who are you, anyway?" Ilya responded tensely.

"Funny you should ask that now. I am David."

"I am Ilya; it is a pleasure to meet you, David." He stated sarcastically.

The two stared in silence.

"Why are you so hostile toward me, Ilya? I won't bite."

Ilya turned his head away and ignored him.

"Well?"

"I don't like trainers very much." Ilya responded grimly.

"I _hate _the catching and training of Pokémon."

David threw his head back and let out a laugh.

"I've never heard of anything like that." Ilya glared back at him before he began to walk across the severed bridge.

"Where are you going?" David snickered, and followed Ilya silently.

"You can't cross the bridge." Ilya stopped in his tracks, and wheeled around.

He glared at David, who gloated over Ilya's misfortune.

"Did you think you could cross by other means?"

"I _could _help, but I am a trainer, and you don't like me." David made a sarcastic pout as his eyes wandered.

Ilya sighed in deeply, and he felt his blood pressure rise.

"I'm sorry. Just help me get out of here please?"

David immediately walked up to Ilya, grabbing his Kirlia's hand and then extending a hand toward Ilya. Ilya hesitated for a moment, staring deeply into David's dark eyes which gave Ilya a twinge of fear.

"Go on." David ushered.

Ilya nodded and then nervously extended a hand to grasp David's.

They now looked back at the bank from which they were. Ilya blinked, as he looked up at David who now had a smirk on his face.

"Well, whatever." Ilya said as he walked down the bridge.

Azalea town wasn't far off. The pale purple ramshackle roofs upon the few houses and buildings hardly reflected the golden orange sunset. Ilya sighed.

"Why are those rocket members chasing after me?"

"Because they believe you have vital information on the whereabouts of Latias and Latios." David responded, stretching as he walked beside Ilya.

"Ah, so those Pokémon were Latias and Latios…? They must've seen me just as Latias went away… I wonder if they're going to persist." Ilya responded.

"That's likely." Ilya stared at him.

"What makes you think that?"

"They're after something, and that would most likely be the eon Pokémon Latias. They witnessed the confrontation, and assumed the likelihood that it transmitted telepathic communication to you."

David closed his eyes and smirked. "_I wouldn't blame them."_

"_Who wouldn't want to catch Latias?_"

Ilya immediately darted his vision back to David with a flustered stare, his face red hot and his hands growing cold.

"In such a harsh and completely unnecessary manner?!" he cried.

"Of course. _It's only a Pokémon. It probably wants to be caught._" David mused.

Ilya nearly shook from the anger that had taken him, but he shook it off and looked away. David snickered at him.

"If you want to escape them, we should head to bill's house in Kanto. You could probably use his terminal to look up information about team rocket and what they're up to."

'_It must be a trap, but would I rather end up dead alone, or follow along with David?' _


	3. Bill's House

Bill's house drew rather near, the roof hung above the tops of the hedges, and its old structure peeked out from around the corner as Ilya and David approached it, a look of seriousness struck across their faces. Many Rocket members had filled in the crevices of Johto, but little in Kanto. None of them dared attack nor ambush them, which was of little surprise to Ilya, who remembered the words of Latias.

"Here we are." David spoke softly, his expression and demeanor growing tender.

He gave the door a tough pull to no avail.

"It's locked." he hissed, ordering his Kirlia to break open the door with its psychic.

Ilya swallowed and looked onward nervously. His breath hung in the warm air as the sun sunk under the horizon.

In the distance, rocket members slowly slid among the large hedges leading to Bill's house. The weak trainers that resided there were not very surprised, seeing as plenty of them littered cerulean city. David caught a glimpse of their insignificant silhouettes inching along the pathway, and his eyes widened.

"They're here!" David cried under his breath; his outburst shattering his hospitality and causing him to immediately enter the residence followed by a startled Ilya.

Ilya frantically shut the door behind him, panting heavily. Bill's house was secluded, and so it was indeed a wise choice made by David to evade the mercenaries. He began to calm as his steps grew steady. David gave a blank stare with his arms crossed. He always seemed to be so calm. Ilya tossed a cold stare at him before he moved over to a nearby computer. Its monitor shone brightly, and it displayed various documents including experimental procedures and functions of machinery. There were also many servers stacked next to it, which would store many Pokémon within its system. "CELL SEPARATION SYSTEM" read a lone document in the root directory. "March 9th, 1998 Experiment 282: Procedure 1 – I had run the pre-scheduled operations, and integrated the data of the Pokémon into the teleporter. However, my experiment went horribly wrong and I was _morphed into a Pokémon."_ The lights flickered off suddenly, and Ilya jumped backward in surprise.

"What was that?" David asked before he walked off into the basement in search for the breaker.

Ilya began to shiver as he felt around blindly in the pitch-black studio room. _CRASH._ The shrill sound of glass shattering and scattering sent shivers down his spine, and caused panic to cloud his thought. In fright he unknowingly stumbled into a tiny, thick, solid steel pod chamber much to his dismay. As he regained himself, the solid door slammed shut and locked itself tightly into position with its mighty internal steel bars. Ilya felt around frantically, and he screamed for assistance repeatedly to no avail. He heard footsteps walk throughout the area, coming in from where the glass had shattered. Ilya leaned very carefully onto the door and pressed his ear against it. It was so thick the intruder's voices were rendered inaudible. _KLUNK! _A heavy object from within the chamber fell to the floor clamorously that persisted and echoed loud. The intruders were stirred and they quickly walked over to the door, pulling at it. Ilya backed up against the chamber's wall reflexively, and he made not a sound so that you could hear a pin drop. The intruder backed away slowly, and then the sound of brief keystrokes made fearful reverberations throughout the blackened room. Ilya's vision was blurry, his heart was reaching a critical pulse rate and sweat covered the back of his neck. He let out a shriek and the intruders gasped in awe as the chamber began to make a loud humming noise while shrouding Ilya in an odd gas that was odorless and colorless. He clawed at the door until he felt weak, hazy, and fatigue, finally collapsing in his spot.

It seemed to be a matter of minutes before Ilya regained consciousness. He felt quite odd, and he realized that his body felt odd as well. He realized he was still within the chamber, however still blanketed in pure shadows.

"Hello? David? Help!" he called out, pounding on the door from the inside.

It jerked ajar with a single pound, causing Ilya to stumble and then shield his eyes from the blinding light that radiated throughout Bill's house. And then he gasped in horror. His arms had faded to that of blue, and his fingers were now 3, blue, and stubby. He was clad with a long, elegant ivory gown that veiled his slender legs and feet, and he had a large topaz horn object protruding from his chest. He stared around, nervous as ever and alight with thought. _'What will I do? Where will I go? What will happen to me?' _His thoughts faded as David came into view, who staggered backward with great surprise as his eyes beheld Ilya.

"David? It's me, Ilya. Please, help me."

David cautiously walked forward.

"David? Can you hear me? Please, get me out of here."

Ilya's eyes widened and his vision blurred in terror as David withdrew a master ball from his pocket, extraordinary amounts of accomplishment and desire flaring outward from his wide eyes.

"No! I'm not a Pokémon!" Ilya exclaimed, putting his arms in front of him reassuringly, and slowly stepping backward.

His foot caught on the desk's leg, causing him to fall on his back.

"No… No… I will not be your Pokémon!" he resented, and then shielded himself with his arms as David stood over him, his arm backward, the master ball expanded in his palm.

The situation struck greatly as odd; his senses were greeted by the rush of cool, night wind and his surroundings were dim, lush, and clear. He lay upon the gentle, thin bristles of the green grass which softly waved and stilled in the pale moonlight. As he cautiously ceased his brace, he stared into the endless, tranquil sky which displayed a vast ocean of stars which decorated the night. Ilya trembled and regained his stance with a shudder. With a second glance down at his new body, at his new look, he concluded the reason, and he accepted his fate.

"T-teleport?" He questioned himself.

"Is this permanent? N-no! I have to change back, before it is too late…"

Thinking this, he immediately looked around, and discovered Bill's house nearby. But as he grasped onto the door's handles with much effort, he discovered the door was heavier, and locked tightly enough that it could pass as sealed shut. Ilya let forth a whine as he hopelessly stared around.

"I am condemned to this…but… come to think of it… I don't mind it." He spoke slowly, feeling himself and his ivory gown.

"I… think I like this… it feels right."

He felt like he had never felt before. His senses were so heightened, and his mind was so broad.

In a way, Ilya felt as though he had shaken off an unnecessary shell of his previous self. He had always associated with being a Pokémon, and often dreamt or wondered what it would be like to fully place himself into the position of the species of which he loved so much.

"I wonder how I can manually teleport…" Ilya scoped around and stared at a nearby tree. "Alright… I'll go from here to that tree." He pushed his arms against his chest and shut his eyes, concentrating hard on the tree. As he concentrated he felt a strange power rush throughout his veins. He focused on being _at that spot._ He imagined himself teleporting to it. He soon felt a strong rush of wind, and cautiously lifted his eyelids to behold the view by the tree.

"Hahaha Yes!" he exclaimed triumphantly. _Swish._ Ilya wheeled around suddenly, hearing nearby bushes move. His heart thumped harder, and his breath hung silently as he remained immobilized, and he listened very carefully. '_I must get out of h-'TWAK_! Ilya's heart jumped and he let out a loud shriek as his face soon met the grass. He sluggishly felt around his neck and felt a metal dart piercing into it. He groaned and tugged on it meekly; his strength and mental power fading rapidly. '_Teleport out of here; don't concentrate on the dart'_ he thought. Try as he might, Ilya's world soon faded into darkness after witnessing dark figures encroach upon him.


End file.
